QUEENS, N.Y. — New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor departed Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs after the second inning. The Mets have not disclosed the reason for his exit as of yet.
Joey Wendle entered the game for him in the top of the third inning.
The start of the 2024 season has been a difficult one for the four-time All-Star, who popped up to shortstop during his first and only at-bat of the night on Wednesday. Entering the game, he was batting .197 with a .639 OPS, five home runs, and 11 RBI in 29 games.
He was one of two Mets (Pete Alonso) to appear in every game for the club this season.
Lindor has appeared in nearly every game over the previous two years, playing in 321 of 324 games dating back to the start of the 2022 season. He was limited to 125 games in 2021 after dealing with oblique issues.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza hinted that he was looking to give Lindor (and Alonso) a day off.
“That’s my goal,” he said earlier on Wednesday. “I know it’s not going to be easy but we need to be smart about it. I’m sure I’ll have those conversations with them the next couple of days or so. It’s one of those day-to-day, see how guys are responding and how much they’re running the bases, things like that. We just have to be smart.”
